Malachi Moreno takes on Cameron, Cayden Boozer. How to watch Great Crossing vs. Columbus.
On Thursday night, a headline boys high school basketball matchup will take place in a prestigious showcase tournament in Florida.
The expected stars of the game include a Kentucky basketball signee.
At 7:15 p.m. Thursday, Georgetown’s Great Crossing High School will take on Christopher Columbus High School (Miami) as part of the annual City of Palms Classic in Fort Myers, Florida.
The star attractions in this matchup are 6-foot-11 center Malachi Moreno from Great Crossing, a Kentucky signee, and 6-9 power forward Cameron Boozer and 6-4 point guard Cayden Boozer from Columbus, both of whom are Duke signees.
Cameron and Cayden are the twin sons of ex-Duke basketball legend and former NBA All-Star Carlos Boozer.
Moreno, who is one of three members of Kentucky basketball’s 2025 recruiting class, is a four-star prospect and ranked by the 247Sports Composite as the No. 27 overall player in the 2025 class.
Cameron, a five-star recruit, is the No. 2 national prospect in the 2025 class. Cayden, a four-star recruit, is the No. 22 prospect.
At one point, Kentucky basketball was recruiting each of these prospects to Lexington. All three recruits received UK scholarship offers from former Kentucky coach John Calipari.
Moreno initially got a UK scholarship offer in October 2023. His recruitment by the Wildcats continued following the offseason Calipari to Mark Pope coaching change, and Moreno was the first player in the 2025 class to commit to Pope and UK when he did so in August.
Moreno was introduced to the Rupp Arena crowd last weekend during a break of play in the Kentucky-Louisville game, receiving healthy applause from UK fans before he performed the L’s down gesture and got an even bigger cheer.
The Boozer twins both took their first official recruiting visits to Kentucky in September 2023, but UK’s pursuit of both players fizzled after Pope became the coach. Cameron and Cayden committed to Duke in October, continuing their family legacy with the Blue Devils.
Thursday’s game is part of the main bracket for the City of Palms Classic, which is taking place this year for the 51st time. The matchup will pit two of the best boys high school basketball teams in the country against each other.
Great Crossing reached the Sweet 16 state tournament semifinals last season, and the Warhawks lost only two games during the 2023-24 season. So far this season, Great Crossing is 6-1. The Warhawks lost their first game of the season Sunday to St. Xavier in Louisville.
Moreno had 24 points and 20 rebounds in that loss.
In addition to the Warhawks being early favorites to win the Sweet 16 in March, Moreno is also the frontrunner to be named Kentucky Mr. Basketball as the state’s top senior.
Great Crossing’s team also includes 6-foot-5 guard Vince Dawson III, a Morehead State signee.
With the Boozer twins, Columbus has become a Florida basketball dynasty. The school has won three consecutive Class 7A state championships in Florida. During this stretch, Cameron has averaged 20.7 points, 11.2 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 2.1 blocks per game, while Cayden has averaged 16.6 points, 5.1 assists and 4.8 rebounds per game.
Columbus — which is 8-1 this season and has won eight straight games — is the No. 1 seed in the City of Palms event.
Thursday’s highly anticipated matchup between Great Crossing and Columbus can be watched via the NBA app.
